Democrats Can Also Expect Unconventional Convention Protests

Wondering what the scene outside the Democratic convention in Boston might look like? Consider this: The protest group that appears most organized is a band of anarchists.

Inspired by the Boston Tea Party and their city's labor union legacy, they call themselves the Bl(A)ck Tea Society. They've been meeting since last summer to muster a response to the four-day convention coming to the FleetCenter at the end of July.

As a May meeting of the group began in a cramped MIT classroom, the nearly 20 people gathered around the table introduced themselves, naming the last book they had read. For one member, it was Orwell's account of the Spanish Civil War. Another was into ``The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage,'' and someone else was reading a biography of Ho Chi Minh.

At least one Bl(A)ck Tea Society meeting has been shut down by MIT security, and according to a report in Newsday, intelligence officers from the New York police monitored another.

``People don't understand what anarchy is about,'' says Elly Guillett, a 27-year-old financial analyst in a flower-print dress who seems to defy the stereotype of the masked nihilist hurling Molotov cocktails. ``It's all about local folks supporting local autonomy. So the idea that local people should be afraid of us is just absurd.''

Formed last July from the ranks of the region's anti-authoritarians, the Bl(A)ck Tea Society is putting most of its energy into organizing a ``Really Really Democratic Bazaar.'' More of a festival than an outlet for fury, the July 27th event on Boston Common will include concerts and workshops. But following that, the group has called for ``massive decentralized actions'' on the convention's concluding day, July 29.

Like the protesters converging on New York in late August, the anarchists have a clear mission: fight the event they see as a fete for the rich and an affront to working-class Boston. But for registered Democrats and other more traditional activists, the convention is a tightrope.

In other words, how do you protest the political maneuverings inside the FleetCenter that are meant to put your preferred candidate into office?

``The way I feel about Kerry is that he represents the Democrats, which is a corporate party. On the other hand, I want Bush to lose,'' says Cynthia Peters. ``I'll celebrate if Kerry wins, but I'll celebrate for five seconds.''

Peters is an organizer with United for Justice with Peace, a group that's putting its planning emphasis on a series of ``people's parties'' in Boston neighborhoods on the eve of the convention.

Besides the group's issues parties in Roxbury, Dorchester and elsewhere, other events include a protest against a proposed biodefense research lab at Boston University and a march featuring a 70-foot backbone puppet meant to fortify the Democrats.

More vehement protests could come from other sectors. For example, an anti-abortion coalition dropped a lawsuit after city officials agreed to streamline the permit process and allow for spontaneous demonstrations during the convention.